“TATARI” / House on Haunted Hill (タタリ), Original First Release Japanese Movie Poster 1999, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) ZA658

This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster printed for the first Japanese release of House on Haunted Hill, the 1999 supernatural horror film directed by William Malone and produced by Joel Silver and Robert Zemeckis as the inaugural theatrical release from Dark Castle Entertainment.

Released in Japan under the sharply effective title 「タタリ」 (Tatari), the film was marketed as a high-concept American horror event, and this poster captures that positioning perfectly. With its violent red-and-black palette, distressed oversized title, and imagery of a derelict asylum interior, it is a memorable and highly collectible example of late-1990s Japanese horror advertising.

Film background
A remake of William Castle’s 1959 horror film of the same name, House on Haunted Hill stars Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter, Peter Gallagher, Bridgette Wilson, and Chris Kattan. The story follows a group of strangers invited to spend the night inside a long-abandoned psychiatric hospital, promised a large cash reward if they can survive until morning. What begins as a macabre party setup quickly turns into a night of violence, hallucination, and supernatural terror as the asylum’s buried history erupts into the present.

The film was significant as Dark Castle Entertainment’s first theatrical release, launching the company’s strategy of reviving and reimagining classic horror properties for a contemporary audience. While critical responses at the time were mixed, the film found a strong audience and has since retained a following among collectors and fans of turn-of-the-millennium studio horror.

Poster design
The design is bold, immediate, and deeply atmospheric. The right half of the composition is dominated by a screaming face rendered in a lurid red overlay, a striking image of fear and disorientation that gives the poster its visceral impact. On the left side, a bleak asylum corridor stretches into the distance, populated by ominous details including a rusted wheelchair and other hospital furniture, establishing the film’s derelict institutional setting at once.

Across the lower middle, the enormous white title “TATARI” is printed in a distressed block font, cutting across the composition with tremendous graphic force. Superimposed red Japanese copy explains the premise in sensational campaign style, effectively framing the film as a deadly overnight challenge in a “cursed abandoned hospital ward.” Above, the top line boasts the film’s American success, while a smaller yellow line at centre heightens the atmosphere of inexorable dread. Below the title, the billing highlights Joel Silver and Robert Zemeckis, noting the picture as Dark Castle Entertainment’s first release, with cast names including Geoffrey Rush and Famke Janssen.

The overall result is a powerful late-1990s horror design: graphic, commercial, and highly effective, with a distinctly Japanese approach to localising American genre cinema.

Condition
Excellent condition. 

Please review the photographs carefully, as they show the exact poster for sale.

This is an original Japanese theatrical poster.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

It is now over 25 years old.

Certificate of Authenticity included.